Feb’26 Brent futures dropped from $62.37/bbl at 20.34 GMT to $61.33/bbl at 10.08 GMT (time of writing). President Donald Trump announced that US forces have seized a large oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, signalling a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s government. Trump described it as the largest tanker ever captured. Attorney General Pam Bondi, releasing footage of the operation, said the vessel was carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela and Iran. Venezuela condemned the move as “international piracy,” and President Maduro reiterated that the country would never become an “oil colony.” Bloomberg reported that Ukraine has broadened its attacks on Russian energy assets by striking Lukoil PJSC’s Filanovsky oil field in the Caspian Sea. A source reports that Ukrainian long-range drones have struck the offshore platform at least four times, resulting in the shutdown of production from more than 20 wells. The IEA has reduced its global oil supply growth forecast for 2025 by 100 kb/d. It now expects output to rise by 3 mb/d, reaching 106.2 mb/d. The IEA also trimmed its 2026 outlook by the same amount, projecting supply to grow by 2.4 mb/d to 108.6 mb/d. Equinor and its partners plan to invest $400 million to increase output from the Johan Castberg oil field in the Barents Sea, aiming to prolong peak production at the company’s newest hub. The newly announced development of the Isflak discovery is expected to add about 46mb, with production slated to begin in late 2028. According to Senior Vice President Grete Birgitte Haaland, similar nearby discoveries could yield several hundred million additional recoverable barrels. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Feb/Mar’26 and 6-month Feb/Aug’26 spreads are at $0.29/bbl and $0.52/bbl, respectively.
